Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused his government of devised a plot to assassinate him or send him to prison; he said in a televised speech that the government was seeking to implement the plot as he moved from Lahore to the capital Islamabad.

Imran Khan said the government was seeking to arrest him and transfer him to a prison in Balochistan province, adding that security authorities in the Pakistani capital Islamabad had treated him as a criminal.

He said Islamabad police tried last Saturday to prevent him from reaching the court to justify the plot to kill or arrest him, and that he never left his car while police fired tear gas at his convoy and supporters.

The former Pakistani prime minister also stressed that he did not refuse to appear before the Court of First Instance in Islamabad on March 18 and had made a pledge to do so, saying that police talk of confiscating weapons, ammunition and bombs from his home was a "lie."

Khan denounced the raid on his home in Lahore last Saturday, calling it "shameful tactics, conspiracies and plans".


Police in Islamabad on Sunday charged Imran Khan, 17 of his aides and dozens of his supporters with "terrorism" and several other offences, after Khan's supporters clashed with security forces in Islamabad.

In the case, filed on Sunday, Khan and his aides and supporters were charged with "terrorism", obstructing police from performing their duties, assaulting police, injuring officers and threatening their lives.

For hours, Khan's supporters clashed with police outside a court where the former prime minister was due to appear in a corruption case. Riot police used batons and tear gas while Khan's supporters threw stones at the police forces, injuring more than 50 officers and setting fire to a police barricade, several cars and motorcycles.

A police car burns in riots between supporters of Khan and security forces last Saturday (Reuters)

Police confirmed that 59 of Khan's supporters were arrested during the violence.

Khan did not actually appear in court to face charges of selling government gifts he received from foreign statesmen during his premiership and threatening a judge in August 2022, and a conviction could result in Khan being excluded from any future public office, as well as a prison sentence of up to three years.